Parterre is, in general, an exception to the golden rule of the web: NEVER READ THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE INTERNET.

Tory Adore

Good lord- the comments ARE the best part of internet articles. Reading them always makes me happy to be an educated East Coast liberal. And reading them gives me a good idea of the pulse of mainstream Amerika. With marriage equality now legal in 18 states and legalization of pot medical and/or recreational looming on the horizon, mainstream Amerika is in for a big shakeup. But please, please, please keep the schlagsahne in Rosenkavalier. lol

Opera Teen

How I feel whenever I read something from Norman Lebrecht:

Quanto Painy Fakor

Wow, that Roger really had a field day there. His ability to limn is really something. Bravo Roger! Gelb’s comment there is total hubris. Borioso polve!

Here’s a blog where the owner insists that the Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are secretly married and have a baby and are hiding a baby in the dungeons.

Feldmarschallin

Roger says:

December 30, 2013 at 1:47 pm

This man is the number #1 responsible for the destruction of opera in America. I despise him so much that I can’t wait for his dismissal by the board. These self-proclaimed “saviours of opera” are throwing the art form to a deep abyss and they are doing this on purpose. Now, as I go to New York, I can’t go to the MET anymore. It’s almost impossible to navigate in this ocean of mediocrity that is the opera scene nowadays. First, in Europe. Then, in the USA. I suppose it fits very well with the big liar and criminal Barack Hussein Obama at the White House

Those girls don’t play nice there. Seems like they are even more conservative than Rowna here.

bluecabochon

I don’t know anything about Rowna’s politics, but I know that she is a lady (a wonderful word that is fast becoming outdated) who would never make a cruel joke about another poster’s suicidal thoughts that were posted here at a vulnerable moment. A gentleman wouldn’t have done that, either.

Feldmarschallin

I meant in her love for the ‘traditional productions’. Or is this a site about politics. Please tell me if it is. I am not a gentleman but a Feldmarschallin and do as I wish.

Well I didn’t know I was unpolite by merely stating someone was conservative but if you wish to pick a fight bluecabochon go ahead I am ready. But you seem to like to stick your nose in other people’s business or is your name Rowna now?

bluecabochon

You know what I am referring to, FM. Once your words are published, it’s everyone’s business.

Quanto Painy Fakor

operaassport

That person sounds crazy. But I think there is NO correlation between one’s political views and one’s openness to new opera production.

I consider myself a Libertarian and I’m completely open to new theater and opera production. I welcome it, in fact. While my husband, who is to the left of Bill de Blasio hates anything that isn’t “traditional.”

I find that’s pretty common.

messa di voce

I think your characterization of Rowna is not accurate, and just a cheap shot that is irrelevant to this discussion.

Regina delle fate

I love the way swivel-eyed rightwing loons emphasis Obama’s middle-name to suggest that he is some kind of secret Muslim, when, let’s face it, the rest of his name isn’t typically WASP-ish and he is a person of colour. The undisguised racism of the people who hate him probably vouchsafed his re-election. I hope so, anyway.

La Valkyrietta

Wonderful is moderation, the Greek ideal. Excess should only be permitted to a lady,

Quanto Painy Fakor

“Overall … we’ve stopped the ageing of the audience. Obviously we can’t stop people from getting old but we’ve stopped the increasingly elderly attendance.”

Elderly people know better than to waste their money on Gelbdrek and ridiculously inflated prices.

operaassport

Gelbdrek? Man, increase the dosage of your meds!

Tory Adore

Judging from the audiences attending Met HD performances in my provincial corner of New England, I would say the elderly would rather watch these movies with loud omni present sound than dress up and trundle off to the closest opera house.

bluecabochon

Comments have been removed? Showing up in the side feed but not in this thread.

redbear

I first heard Gelb speak at a Opera Europa conference in Paris a couple of years before he took over. While the other articulate intendants spoke of their artistic vision, Gelb concentrated on those two “average age” polls from the Met files, one shown an old audience and the other, five years later, showing the average age plus five. “At this rate, the audience will be dead in some years.” Clearly a marketing man, he gave not the slightest hint of any artistic vision. His video broadcasts, however, did increase the “brand identity” around the globe. He did travel and became aware that European productions were moving in other directions than the familiar “comfort food” that the Met provides and began asking for recommendations. A simple questions like “As America’s leading opera company, what role should the Met play in staging American opera, commissioning new American opera or encouraging creative American stage direction” is never asked. “Have you stopped dipping into your endowment to balance the books?” Never asked. He just repeats his “average age” story. Too bad Glenn Greenwald is not an opera lover..

Noel Dahling

Whew! And people talk about this site being ‘bitchy’ and ‘negative.’Most posters here are intelligent and polite.
I’ve never seen anything on Parterre to compare with Roger’s comment. What a repellent creature!